WHAT: The American Civil Liberties Union and Nixon Peabody LLP will be in federal court in Boston to prevent the deportation of a group of Indonesian nationals, most of whom have lived in the United States for more than a decade and now face imminent removal to Indonesia where they are in grave danger of persecution, torture, or death due to their faith.

The case is Devitri v. Cronen. The Boston field office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) had worked with a coalition of Indonesian churches in New Hampshire to encourage longstanding members of the local Indonesian community to voluntarily report to ICE. In exchange for identifying themselves and regularly touching base with ICE, they were able to apply for work permits and allowed to put down roots in the community.

Recently, ICE began denying work permit renewals and instructing Indonesian nationals to purchase plane tickets back to Indonesia on just weeks’ notice. Last month, Nixon Peabody LLP convinced the court to halt the two dozen deportations scheduled for October so there would be time to hear the arguments being presented tomorrow.

Lee Gelernt, deputy director of the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project, says: “In its rush to deport as many immigrants as possible, ICE is putting families who have lived in the United States peaceably for decades in grave danger of being persecuted or killed. This must be stopped.”

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